Floor-treating apparatus



May 28, 1929. c DORNHECKER 1,715,058

' fLooR TREATING APPARATUS Filed March 14, 1925 a Shee ts-Sheet 1 A} Agmwoz Gttozwqg A May 28, 1929. H. c. DORNHECKER FLOOR TREATING'APPARATUSFiled March 1.4, L923 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 th... A

gnmnkoz 4, Guam;

y 1929. 4 H. c. VDOIRNHECKER I 1.715.058

FLO QR TREATING APPARATUS 5 Filed March 14, 1923 KSheets-Sheet 5 A m,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,mnnmm WWW/WWW Patented May 28, v i

' Hanna 0. DORNHECKER, oF BALTIi/ronn; auritania." I

FLOORLTREATINQ Arm mares; f

Apphcation 'filed March 14,11 923."'seria 'nt; 6 25,081

My invention relates to apparatus prima arra'n -rily designed for useupon fiofors and involves anvassociationof devices capable ofeffectually cleansing, waxingand polishing the surface under treatment.

Generally stated, myimproved floor cleaning and-polishingdevice has foraprincipal feature the provision of a plurality of means which canbeeasily afliXed to the deviceto' aceompli'sh the several purposes ofthe invention, each means being particularly well adapted todetachablyvfit the device and bej operating handle shown removed. I

ing provided with comparatively simple connecting parts-torreadilyeflecting the attach-, ment and removal of the respect ve meansaccording tothe n'atureof the work being done, Pz'trticularly stated,the invention hasfor an, object theprovision of a compact floor cleaningapparatus involving a detachable brush section,an endless wax applyingmemher to which-the Wax or othermaterial is-in turn applied from aself-contained reservoir,

and: a detachable polishing member in the nature of a strip of clothwhich is preferably afliXed to the apparatusover the brush sec tion. 1

Another object of the invention is to providea floor treating device ofthe class described, comprising a casing or housing havingmounted'therein an endlessbelt'member adapted to intermittentlyfrictionally engage the floor, and meansincludi'ng'a wax or other Ymaterial compartment adjacent said endless belt and from which the waxor other material 4 is withdrawn by the movement of said belt when thedevice. is movedacross the floorwith the said belt out of'frictionalengagement therewith, and

in rolling contact with the floor.- i

A further object of the: invention is to pro vide a floor treatingapparatus including an endlessbelt member adapted to contact the floorand movable" in onedirectio'nas the apparatus is moved 1n oneCllIGClJlOIl across the surface "being treated and provided with meansfor holdingsa'idendle'ss member in firied relation for frictionalengagement with the floor as the apparatus 18 moved in'the oppositedirection ,over the-surface under treatment, whereby a substantiallyuniform -application and rubbing'of the wax or other material upon thesurface to be cleaned-or polished isetfected. v

With these and other objectsin view,the

member in'extended position.

the bottom into,- the interior cured to'the .top of the housing.

invention fur therconsists in the construction, p, gement andcombination of parts'hereinafter described. v I

partsbroken away, illustratingmy improved floor treating apparatus withthe flexible polishing member shown stretched around the bottomclosure'brush section Figure-2 -isyan endview thereof with the j Figure3 is a topplan view: of the appa i mus showing the flexibleattachingmember of the bottom closure section and polishing Figure isanfllnverted View with theendle'ss belt member and supporting frameremoved. I r

looking-from oat-the" casing ;Figure5 is an, enlarged vertical.longitudishown in Figure'L- Y Y 1 ;Figure 6 isadetail horizontalsectional view on the line 6 6ofl1igu re 5, throughthe casing. "m Figure7 is a vertical longitudinal sectional 'withsaid-surface being shown infull lines in one position and dotted linesjin' released position.

f F igure'8isa'vertical tra-nsverse lsectional nalpsectionalf viewthrough (the apparatus" View on theline 8 -8 of Figure 5,showing* theapparatus with the brush section contacting the surface under treatment.

Referring to the drawings in which similar" reference charactersdesignate j correspond apparatus comprises,,among other things, a"

'ing partsin the several views, my improved boX-likebasing' or housing lprovided with q opposite sidewalls 22 and: end walls ..3v3.'

Thetop dis provided forthe housing and-has connected thereto theoperating handle 5. The lower end ofthe handle?) is 'deta'ch'ablymounted upon a pin 6 extending through upright portions of a U-shapedmember 7 se- V The top 4 is preferably. provided with a {cover section 8at oneend thereof, said cover section bei'ng removable topermit accesstOthe'interiOr of v the "housing.

jacent the top l, andxthe hookmember 1() acts I r to holdsaid'coversection in place. "A link connection'in the form of a snap hook- 11 isutilized toanain'tain the handle the fl is a compartment or reservoir'12'ada'pted' {to receive fsuita le-"floortreating material properinclination ;when moving the apparatus across the floor; i Thlsconstruction permits the release of the handle, as will be understood. oy V Formed within the inter orof the casing such as wax, forexample. Thecompartment orreservoir 12 is preferably formed between theopposite sidewalls 2 of the casingyand vertically disposed partitions 13space'd'lonjgitudinally of the casing'and arranged adjacentthe t'op-4 tl1ereof.- Other compartments 14 may be=provided intermediate said partitions Bland-the respective end walls 33 ofthe casing; fAny or all ofthese compartments maybe utilized to hold" any desired material althoughthe! intermediate compartment 12 isprimarily designed to retain suchmaterial as floor wax. i

Adjacent thelcompartment or reservoir 12 f; and extending beneath thepartitions 13' in closely spaced relat1on therefron'nis' an end-'lessbelt member 15 formed'of cloth or other lsuitableflexible materialcapable ofreceiving the floor treating materlal and in turn applying thesameto the surface of the floor under treatment. The endless belt memberis. designed to form the bottom of the-comp artr'nent V or reservoir12and is periodically movable beneath said compartment whereby the Waxorother material can be withdrawn'in ad fhering particles to thesurfaceof the belt for conveyance to the surface being treated; It

will be notedthat the partitions 'll act to retain. the major portion ofthe floor treating material ,within the reservoir 12 but-that therelatively small opening or space provided bet ve'en the bottom of saidpartitions and the upper surfaceof the belt, perm-its thedischarge andwithdrawal of'the material'when thebelt is'n'iovedf The endless beltmember .1 s maintainedacross the bottom of the-co1n partment orreservoir l-2fby means of a belt supporting member .16, as clearly shownin Figuresb and 7'. :The member 16 maybe hcld in a; suitable frame 18screws 19 and qused todetermine the relative'spacing of the uppersurface of the belt fronrth lowermost edges of .the'partitionsi13, willbe undep stood: I a.

The endless belt member 15, supported The cleat portion 9 serves to gretain the inner edge of the cover section ado- The lowermost rollers 17areendless belt member beneath the-lowermost,

edges of the walls forming the casing 1, said endless beltprojectingthrough the lower open end ofsaid-casing a suflicient distance to permitthe movement of theapparatus' acrossthesurface under treatmentwhen applying thefloor treating material to said sur face by means oftheendless belt member, as shown in Figure 7.

a The endlessbeltgmember is'adapted a; be intermittently held forfrictional engage-' ment with the surface under treatment when theapparatus is moved in one direction,"the Y means efiiectmg this holdlng'of the beltbeing automatically released to permit movement "of said beltwhen the apparatus is mo ved 1n the-opposite, direction. The means whichI haveshown to effect this periodic holding and a I release'of theendless belt member'includes a shiftable member'20 supported upon theinner face of the "belt 15 and longitudinally move able Withirithecasing between the lowermost rollers 17 The member 20 is in the form ofa wedgethe taper portion of which isfadapted to be moved between oneofthe rollers 17 and said belt for preventingmovement of the belt aroundsaidfrollers, thereby effecting frictional engagement of the belt withthe" iioor or other surface. It will bc noted that, a 7

upon movement of the app'aratus'in the opposite directiontheshiitablewedge member 20 will be released by the movement of the beltupon the floor in jitsfree passagearound the,

roller 17 ,said shiftable member being cap able of being movedthe fulldistance between the lowermost rollers 17, as shown in full and dottedlines HiFlglii'G 7. -The contact ng-of" the relativelystraight face ofthe wedge member withone'ot the rollers 17', as shown in dotted lines'inFigure 7, does not act to prevent the continued free movement of thebelt memberas the apparatus isdrawn across the fi'oor in the directionof the arrow shown indotted lines in said figure. g 7 v The detachableclosuresection for the 'box like casing 1 includes a plate member 21having projecting therefrom a plurality of brisbrush orSCYUlJblIlFi-pUl'tlOIll -Cut-awayportles or other means'capable of formitions 22 are provided in said closure section lie 7 for permitting thelowermost roller-sand belt 1 member to extend therein when said sectionis appliedv to the casing; 1, as bestshown in Figure 5, Suitablei'l'pright members 123 are 3 preferably providedon the closure, section,

said members being herein shownin the form of angle plates and'disp'osed' toform ajtight fit against the inner faces of the: end walls33 of the casing; This constructionper- 5 mits of the principal strainsincident to the scrubbingor brushing action being imparted to the wallsof the casing which are best able to withstandthesame.

Attaching means is provided at each of the brush-lilce'closure section,said attaching means including; upwardly extending flexible members 24,the' upper ends'Ofwhich arede'signed to be bent around bailelikemem-*bers 25. The extreme ends of the attach ing members 24 are preferablyreinforced or 1 thickened to extend beneath the 25 when the latter ispressed against the outer.

. walls of the casing, as best shown in Figure 5.

A bail member 25 is-slidabl mounted in" each end wall and comprisesspaced armsQG passing through holes 26 and having their inner ends bentto prevent the complete withdrawal of the bail member-L The arms 26 arej preferably spring-tensioned against the side of the opening throughwhich they passpso as to provide frictional contact between the arms andthe adjacent contactingportion of the wall. This may be accomplished byflaring the'inner ends ofthe arms 26 when-in" their innermost position,the withdrawal'of the bail member causing saidarms to move toward eachother andefiect frictionalen gagement.

The flexiblepolishingmember 27 is preferably adapted to be fitted overthe brush tion of the closure sectionland contact the surrounding buffer30 provided on the closure Section. The casing 1 may also be providedwith a surrounding" buffer 31 which is exposed for use when theapparatus is used with the endless belt member contacting the'fioor,

-. as shown in Figure 7 In the use of my invention the; surface tobetreated may be first thoroughly cleaned with the'bru sh portion of thebot-tom closure section, whereupon the said closure section can 1 be.quickly detached by withdrawing the bails 25 and releasing the flexibleattaching members 24. With this section removed the 'ap-' parat -us ispositioned upon the floor with the endless belt member in contacttherewith. 'Movement of the apparatus in one direction causes the beltmember to freely move across the floor and in so doing convey to the surface under treatment the particles of wax or other material adhering tosaid belt member. When the apparatus ismoved in the lopposite directionthe slidable member 20 j causes the belt to be heldagainst rollingmovement and maintains the same in relatively fixed pQSltlOIl' forfrlctlonal Contact l with the surface being treated. These suecessivemovements of the endless member serves to effectively apply a uniformquantity of wax or other material to the floor. The "bottomclosuresection may now be reaffixed to the casing 1 and the flexible polishingmember 27 positioned over said brush section and attached to the casing,whereupon bail member the surface to which the wax hasbeen I: i ,cannow-be effectively" polished byiinoving V the apparatus across saidsurface. I

" "An app'aratus constructed in accordance with my invention provldes asimple and par-] ticularlyefi'ective association of deviCesco:operatively applied to the casing or hous ng 1. The advantages inmanufacture'a-ncl' as-- sembly will also be obvious,. it being apparentv that the frame section 18 cari'ying the rollers "and endless beltmember can be readily re 'movedforpurposesio'f inspection and repairbywithdrawing the: retaining pins 32. Va-

riou's changes in'the construction and ar v rangment ofIthe several,partsmay be made,

and Ido not'wish to be understood as limitj ing' my invention hereinshown. .What is claimed 1s:

1. 'Anapparatus of the I class described-jin- I .cluding incombination,a hollow open bot-" tom-casing provided with" spaced partitions, and anendless belt member mounted within said casing and movably disposedadjacent saidv partitions for frictionally engaging the materialcontained between said partitions, said; endless belt member beingadapted to extend through said open bottom and tofric= tionally engagethe surface under treatment to'the exact e i'nbodin'ientf 'when t-heapparatus'is moved in onedirec- Y .tion, andm'eans carried bys'aid beltand p to P event movement thereof when 1 the apparatusis moved in theOpp .si t.e'dirgc I 'tion. 7 i 2; An apparatus of the classdescribedineluding in combination, a hollow casing pro vided with a compartmentadaptedjtoreceive floor treating materiaL-an endless beltmemi on herdisposed within said casing and forming? I one of the walls of saidcompartment, said endless belt member being adapted to form the bottomwall of saidcasing for engagementwith the surface under treatmentwhereby v thematerial from said compartment is con ,110

veyed and applied to said surface.

3. A floor treating apparatus of the class described including incombination a casing 1 providedwith a compartment adapted to re-'; ceivefloor treating material,- an, endless belt member completely housedwithin said'fcasing, vand adapted to form the bottom closuref for saidcompartment, means for supporting said endlessmember relatively close:to'the' bottom of. said compartment, and means frictionally engagingsaid beltfor preventing the movem'ent thereof across the bottom'of 'saidcome partment direction;

4; A floor apparatus of the class described comprising acasing providedwith a reservoir when the device is moved'in onei" adapted to receivefloor treating material, 3 means includingan endless belt. for conveying said material to the surface under treat; ment, and means supportedonjsaid belt for holding the same for. frictional engagement 'w-ith the'surfaceunder treatment when the apparatus is moved in one 'meansactingto pernnt the belt to move When p the apparatns s moved intheopposite d recg direction, said tion. I

5. A-floorapparatus of the class described 3 comprising a: casing provded vvlth' arreservoir adaptedto receive fioortreating material,means'including an ,endlessibeltfor conveying said material to thesurface under -,treatment, and means including a shiftable ",membersupported' on said belt adapted to hold the same infrictional engagementwith the surface under treatment when the apparatus ismovedin onedirection, said shiftable I I inemberbemg ajutomatlcallymoved to releasesaid belt from *IEIlCtlOniLl engagementv with f 'saidvsurfacewhen-theapparatus is moved in .ment, a plurality of-rrollers forsupporting 'Silld belt ad acent said reservoir and; Without said caslng,and-means movably, inter-1 posedbetween one of said rollers and saidbelt for holding the belt infifrictional engagement with the;surfaceunder treatment as the. apparatus is moved in one direction,

said means being released When the apparatus end portion, 'vided with abrush is-moved in the opposite. direction for per mitting'movernent ofsaid belt.

7. In afloor treating apparatus, thecombination With a casing having anopen lower end.,portion, a closure member for said open saidclosnremember being pro,- portion adapted to conw en tact thesurfacebeing cleansed aplurality V of upwardly extendin'g flexibleattaching members carried said closure member and means including-aslidable member mounte'd ito pro ect-;from saidcasmg forconnectmg saidflexible members to said casing;

In a device of the' character described, a casing, rollers ournale'dthere n, an endless bclttrained about the rollers and hav ng its lowerstretch projecting beyond the bottom '1 of the casing; the space abovethe. upper stretch of beltseivmg asa compartment for containing Waxingmaterial, and means'within the intermediate portion of the casing supporting said upper stretch of the i'bfelt' andv the Weight of thematerial thereon.

9. In a device of the character described,

a casing, rollers ournaled therein, an endless oi the casing and meansslidably mounted upon the lower stretch of the belt operating v belttrained aboutsaid rollers and havingits 'lovver stretch projectingbeyond the bottom v upon movement thereof in one direction to jambetween thebelt and one roller for pre venting rotation ofthe latter.

7 10. In a dev ce, of'the character described including a rectangularbody, a. polish ng. imember,stretchedacross the bottom oi -the:

body and provided at its ends; with flexible members, ll-shapedbail'members having their arms slidable through the ends of the bodynieans on the balls for preventing dis- I i engagement thereof from thebody, and the 7 ends or" said "flexible members' being inserted Withinand en a ed aboutthe bi 'ht ortions b o Y. b p p c of thebail members. o1

In test mony whereof I'atlix my signature.

HENRY, o; nonnnnciinn. V

